and the world keeps spinning
by JacksonFrost
Summary: Various pairings, various prompts for the HPFC forum-wide competition. So far: NarcissaJames, HelenaGodric, LavenderCharlie, VictoireTeddy, SeamusDaphne, HannahNeville.
1. cause he's the rebellion in her eyes

_series of challenges for the forum-wide competition on the HPFC forum. I'm entered in the Ravenclaw house._

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**and the world keeps spinning**

_chapter one  
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**title: **'cause he's the rebellion in her eyes

**prompt: **taste**  
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**pairing: **NarcissaJames

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Narcissa Black considers herself the epitome of good taste. She has the most sought-after dresses from Paris, the _best_ pureblood boys falling at her feet. She knows precisely the _right_ people to associate with, and the less desirables to steer clear of. She's one third of the Black trifecta, and really, the one that most people see as the proper pureblood princess.

She has her life planned out, and although her sisters tease her, she doesn't care. Being the trophy wife of Lucius Malfoy and the mother of a delightful heir might not be Bella's reckless life or Andromeda's rebellious life, but it's the _tasteful_ thing to do, the _Narcissa Black_ thing to do.

And she doesn't appreciate having this plan turned around by a stupid Gryffindor boy with a lopsided grin and laughing eyes.

Yet there she is, standing in a broom closet with his mouth nuzzling her collarbone and her hands in his hair. She should be disgusted by this, enraged at the very idea of betraying her family in such a matter. But instead she sighs and whispers his name, savoring the forbidden taste in her mouth.

James straightens up and grins. "You're beautiful, you know?" he says thoughtfully as he looks at her star-filled eyes and leans down to kiss her softly.

Narcissa knows, she's heard this all her life, but when James says it, it's different somehow. "So are you," she whispers, not worrying about being too forward for once, just kissing him back.

This isn't love, they both know it, he's meant for Lily and she's meant for Lucius. This is the result of teenage lust and experimentation and the urge to break out of their boxes before going back and playing out their lives like everyone expects them too. They know this.

It doesn't stop them from meeting in broom closets, from stealing kisses and exchanging meaningful looks. It doesn't stop them from relishing the secrecy and excitement, from feeling their heart race when they see the other. And four years later, when they're both happily married and they see each other once more, it doesn't stop them from swallowing the bitter taste of regret as they look the other way and pretend that _they_ never existed.


	2. your golden intelligence defines you

_again, entered in the Ravenclaw house. and I have no idea where I came up with this pairing/idea!_

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_**and the world keeps spinning**

_chapter two_

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_**title:** your golden intelligence defines you

**prompt: **write about two characters, one who's in your house **  
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**pairing:** HelenaGodric

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Ravenclaws are smart, logical, clever, witty. Ravenclaws are intelligent, Ravenclaws defy ignorance. Ravenclaws are the ones who will succeed in life. Helena should know. After all, she is the daughter of the original Ravenclaw.

She was sorted into the Ravenclaw house too, and her mother promises her it was legitimate, it wasn't based off her parentage. She smiles, and pretends to believe her, but secretly, she doesn't think so. A true Ravenclaw would be intelligent enough to love the man she's meant to be with, not a man old enough to be her father and a thousand miles out of her league. And Helena clearly doesn't have that intelligence or the wits to be able to stop this horrible mistake she's been making since she was twelve years old, when she decided she was in love with Godric Gryffindor.

He never noticed her other than patting her (his colleague's daughter) head as he walked on by. She prayed for the Sorting Hat to put her in Gryffindor, so she could be with him, but her prayers went unanswered, and as the years go by, she slowly gives up. She loves him, but he doesn't notice her, and the Baron loves her, and all of her Ravenclaw logic is telling her to be with the man who cares for her. And so she lets him kiss her in the corridors, hoping that Godric will (will not) pass by and see. And she tries to be happy.

She fails, of course, even though Ravenclaws never fail, and one night finds her crying by the lake, telling her problems to the stars. He finds her, of course, and puts his arm around her. "Tell me what's the matter," he says sorrowfully, as if he knows her, as if he actually cares.

She looks at him through her tears and throws her supposed intelligence to the wind. "I'm in love with you."

"What?" Godric asks, startled. "You're with the Baron, I thought."

So he had noticed, Helena thinks vaguely as she laughs mirthlessly. "I was trying to do the smart thing. The Ravenclaw thing. But I'm in love with you, it's always been you. I can't do the Ravenclaw thing."

"You are a true Ravenclaw," Godric tells her, ignoring her confession. "You remind me of your mother, you know."

Helena shakes her head. "I'm in love with a man who clearly doesn't love me back, and I'm not in love with a man who adores me. I'm not a Ravenclaw, I'm a fool."

"Part of intelligence is knowing your heart and following it," Godric says gently, touching her hair almost reverently. "And part of wit is knowing you're making a mistake. I'm too old for you."

"Don't say that," Helena whispers, her eyes shiny with tears. "I'm seventeen. Don't use that as an excuse for not caring about me."

"Oh, Helena," he breathes. "For someone so incredibly smart…don't you know I'm wildly attracted to you?"

She kisses him then, deeply and longingly and hungrily, and for the first time in her life, she thinks she's exactly where she needs to be.

~.

"Mama, he loves me," Helena says, holding her ailing mother's hand and glowing. "He told me so."

Her mother lifts her head from her pillow and fixes her daughter with a piercing stare. "Helena, come now. The Baron asked me for your hand in marriage. I told him yes. He's who you need to be with."

"I don't love him," Helena says, dropping Rowena's hand. "I'm in love with Godric, and we're going to be together and that's all there is to it!"

"Absolutely not," Rowena says, her eyes narrowing sharply. "Godric's a wonderful man. I admire him greatly. But he's not right for you, and frankly, you're being a fool if you think you're in love. For Merlin's sake, a week ago, you barely knew him!"

"That doesn't matter," Helena says, drawing herself up with some pride. "He loves me. And I love him."

"He loved me once," her mother says, the sympathy in her voice conflicting with the strange sort of pride in her eyes. "Still does, for all I know. I turned him down, repeatedly, because I knew he wasn't good for me. Logically speaking, he-"

"Stop," blurts Helena, her mind buzzing. "Stop, he doesn't love you. He can't. He loves me, I know he does."

"Maybe so," Rowena admits graciously, but the look in her eyes belies her words.

_You remind me of your mother…_ Helena closes her eyes. "I'm going," she says harshly.

"Fine," her mother says blandly, deliberately missing the threat. "And when the Baron asks you for your hand, say yes. He's good for you."

Helena chokes back a thousand protests, a thousand pleas. She shakes her head and leaves. On her way out, she sees her mother's diadem in its proper place, its seeping wisdom taunting her.

_You remind me of your mother…He loved me once. Still does, for all I know….You're being a fool if you think you're in love._

She pauses for a split second, and takes it.

~.

She reaches a forest after days of mindless traveling. She doesn't want to think about any of it, but as she stands among the trees and looks at the diadem, she knows she has to face it all. She doesn't know if Godric ever truly cared for her, or if he was pretending she was Rowena. It doesn't matter. It woke her up to the truth. She spent years of her life pining after someone who she didn't even know, and it wasn't intelligent at all. She gave him (or the idea of him) pieces of herself- her heart, her self-confidence, her sense of belonging as a Ravenclaw- until there was nothing left.

Helena looks at the diadem and sighs. "I am a true Ravenclaw," she tells it. "I made mistakes- Merlin, I made mistakes- but I learned from them and being able to learn and move on is a mark of intelligence." She smiles wistfully. "And part of intelligence is knowing your heart and following it. So I'll say no to the Baron. And I won't lead him on anymore."

Smiling softly, she taps her wand against a tree and makes an opening. Placing the diadem gently into the tree, she laughs. "True intelligence comes from experience. Not a charm. Let the future Ravenclaws discover _that_._"_

She slides down on the ground, leaning against the tree, and waits for the Baron to come find her.

~.

He kills her, in the end. But maybe, she thinks, maybe she was destroying herself all along.


	3. because history starts now

_go Ravenclaw! (:  
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_**and the world keeps spinning**

_chapter three_

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_**title: **because history starts now

**prompt: **set three [never/there's a beginning of things/let me forget/snuffed out candle/rose/while this was happening/you know?]**  
**

**pairing: **LavenderCharlie

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Lavender sees life as a series of segments. There's always a beginning of things, and it's always exciting and fresh and new. And then there's a middle, which can be long and drawn-out, or short and slightly pointless. And finally, there's an end, which could be relief or misery. And then it starts all over.

She uses this to chart out her life, and she likes knowing that when she's going through a difficult end, a new beginning is lurking around the corner. She appreciates knowing that when the middle is hell, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it'll be over soon.

It's her guide to relationships (case in point: happy, sickly-sweet beginning with Ron/awkward middle filled with mistrust and suspicion/tearful-but-secretly-relieved end), but more than that, it's her guide to life.

She's in a bad middle now, she tells herself grimly, as she lies in her hospital bed and stares at the ceiling. It was a horrific beginning this time (which has never happened before, Lavender was always a happy-beginning girl, but that's just one of the many things that has changed), complete with screams and claws and teeth and the suffocating smell of sweat and matted fur and blood.

But that awful, terrible beginning has passed, and now she's on the long road to recovery (a painful middle), but eventually _this too shall pass_ and she'll reach a happy ending. That's what she tells herself firmly, even as she wakes up screaming from vivid nightmares, or writhes in pain from the lingering effects of her attack.

It's hard though, and it's harder to do it alone- her Muggle parents are shocked and confused and don't know how to handle their daughter with werewolf injuries. Seamus is an end now, he still visits occasionally, but it's always awkward and filled with the might-have-beens, and her ugly scars lie between them, taunting them. Parvati's broken now, after Padma's death, and neither of them have the energy to try to fix each other. And all her other friends are either dead or wrapped up in their own injuries (she says this so casually, like it doesn't matter, but _oh Merlin,_ it _does, _and it's just another thing that's killing her).

Her once-bright eyes are snuffed out, and she knows the Healers feel sorry for her, and so she's not really surprised when a vaguely familiar boy (man) pokes his head in the door, carrying a bouquet of roses.

"Hi," he says, and for a wild second, Lavender thinks he's Ron, and her breath hitches. But no, _that's_ firmly an end, and she looks at this strange man curiously. "I'm Charlie. Weasley," he clarifies, smiling jovially at her.

"Hi," she say back, accepting the flowers he hands to her and sniffing them politely. "Who told you to visit me? Demzela?"

"What?" he asks, with a practiced air of mock-confusion, but the corners of his mouth tug. "I dunno what you're talking about, but I heard there was a Greyback"- he curls his lip slightly- "attack victim, and my older brother, Bill, was attacked by him a couple years ago, so I know how much it sucks." He gives her an appraising look, and winces. "You got it a hell of a lot worse than he did, though, so I figure you are in _desperate _need of my services."

"Your services?" Lavender asks dryly, ignoring the comment about her scars.

Charlie grins. "I'm here to entertain, to talk, to cheer you up."

"Why?" Lavender asks, her face wrinkled up in confusion. "I don't even know you."

Charlie pauses for a second, and then smiles again, but it lacks the carefree happiness it had a second ago. "I lost a brother in the battle. Fred. It was horrible, and Bill had Fleur and Ron had Hermionie and Ginny had Harry and Percy had that girl from the Ministry that he writes to all the time. So I thought I'd, you know, be there for George. But I'm telling you, it was like talking to a zombie. Scared the hell out of me. I know I sound like a cad but I couldn't really be around him for too long without feeling ten times worse. I never knew what to say to him, so I always made it worse and- well, he has Angelina now."

"And you still have no one," Lavender finishes dully; the story is familiar to her.

"Well, I have my dragon, but Mum wants me to stay close to home, so yeah. I started visiting patients at St. Mungo's. Namely those in the Final Battle, it's my own way of honoring Fred, and anyway, it helps me out. So it's selfish, but whatever, I like it." He grins again at her. "And I get to meet pretty girls like you."

Lavender giggles. "Well, I think I'm supposed to tell you that I'm not a charity case and you shouldn't feel obligated to stay, but I'm not going to. You should stay, because when I'm with someone, it lets me forget, and I need to do some forgetting."

"Forgetting is my specialty," Charlie says and promptly sits on the edge of her bed. He laughs at her surprised face and winks.

She laughs in response, and thinks maybe she has another happy beginning in her after all.

**x.x**

He starts coming every morning, and it gets so Lavender forgets about not getting her hopes up, and is consistently ready and waiting at 10 o'clock. He's never late, and he's always charming and funny and sweet, and Lavender thinks she might be falling a little bit in love (she does it so easily). It scares her though, because she's vulnerable now with her empty eyes and her red scars and raw skin and she doesn't want another nasty ending.

And one day he asks her the question she's been both dreading and wishing for: "So, Lav, are there any jealous boyfriends I should be worried about?"

She exhales and laughs reluctantly. "No. Not anymore. I was dating Seamus Finnigan until about a month ago. He was great, and I thought I loved him, but- " She breaks off, her fingers kneading the blanket and her eyes shuttered.

"What happened?" Charlie asks curiously, and then shakes his head. "Sorry, I don't want to pry, it's just- you look like you need to talk about it."

Lavender shrugs. "I was a mess after the battle. I mean, I'm still bad now, but right after the battle… I would see a picture of a gray kitten and go into hysterics. Over a cute little kitten. It was that bad. I couldn't be alone, but at the same time, I screamed if anyone touched me. And while all this was happening, Seamus was grieving over Dean's death, and taking care of me was just too much."

"So he left when you needed him the most," Charlie says flatly, staring at his hands.

"He's a good guy," Lavender argues faintly. "He just- couldn't deal with it, you know?"

"Yeah," Charlie says, sighing. "I know. I kind of want to punch him for being so stupid that he'd let a girl like you go, but I know. I left George when he needed me the most because it made me too _uncomfortable_. I try to make amends for that every day,but I don't even know if it's possible. Because who does that? Not good people, that's for sure. Not the man I thought I was, not the man I wanted to be." He stops and manages a smile. "I shouldn't be dumping all this on you. Sorry."

"Stop it, we can dump on each other," Lavender says fiercely. "The people who do that are good people who are scared and hurt. You're a good guy, Charlie, and George knows that."

Charlie smiles tiredly and looks into her snuffed-out candle eyes. "Do you still scream if people touch you?"

Lavender blushes. "No."

Charlie grabs her scarred hand and gently brings it to his lips. "Okay, then."

**x.x**

And then he's coming twice a day, at 10 and 4 o'clock, like clockwork, and Lavender's ready and waiting an hour before, her heart fluttering and her mind racing. He makes her feel beautiful and innocent again, things she never thought she'd feel again, and she likes that. And every day, his smile is a little bit brighter, a little more genuine, and she thinks that maybe she's helping him heal too.

"I love you, Lav," he casually says one day, and moves his pawn forward in their game of Wizarding Chess.

Lavender almost topples over the game board in her shock. "What? Are you- Charlie. You don't- Are you sure you want to get into my mess?"

"If you want to get in mine," Charlie tells her earnestly, taking her hand. "Lav, I know you've been hurt- physically, yeah, but also emotionally- and I want you to know that I would never hurt you."

"I know that," Lavender whispers. "And I love you too."

He leans forward and kisses her then, _ohso_gently and sweetly, and he starts her life on a new track, with a happyhappy ending, relighting the candles in her eyes.


	4. how our stars don't collide

_okay, so I wrote this several thousand word story on the entirety of Victoire and Teddy's relationship, but unfortunately, it was way over the word limit for this competition and there was no way I could effectively cut it down_. _I am not very pleased with this, but as I was running out of time in which to submit this entry, it's the best I could do. I'll probably post the full story soon, outside of the comp. Please review and let me know your thoughts!  
_

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_**and the world keeps spinning**

_chapter five_**  
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**title**: how our stars don't collide

**prompt**: Victoire Weasley, and a romantic relationship with someone not in the Ravenclaw house

**pairing**: VictoireTeddy

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"You're beautiful, you know?" Teddy whispers as he plays with a tendril of her white-blonde hair.

She laughs and kisses him, lazily settling into his arm as they stare up into the nighttime sky. It's beautiful and stretches into infinity… "just like us," Victoire breathes.

Teddy makes a sound of inquiry but Victoire silences him with a kiss. "Look at all the constellations," she breathes, pointing out patterns and pictures in the sky.

She rattles off their names, and Teddy smiles as he watches her light up, the stars brilliantly reflected in her eyes. He wasn't Ravenclaw like her, he only sees little white dots up in the sky, but he loves watching her as she shines.

Victoire falls quiet, and Teddy kisses the top of her head. No, he'll never be Ravenclaw, he's Gryffindor, and he's supposed to be brave and chivalrous. He's known as a good guy, as a true-and-true Gryffindor. But when he thinks of Lily's bright green eyes and the way his heart constricts painfully whenever he's in near proximity of her, and when he thinks of Victoire's love and trust in him, he decides he's truly a bastardly coward.

"Victoire," he manages, his heart beating wildly as he considers the notion of doing the quote-unquote right thing—and breaking her heart. "I have something to tell you."

Victoire turns and looks at him, her grey eyes darkening as she picks up on his tone. "No," she says firmly, placing a small hand over his mouth. "Teddy. Not tonight."

"Victoire," Teddy tries, wishing more than anything that he didn't have to do this. "I think that-"

Victoire ignores him, settling back into his arm, shaking her head. "Tonight is perfect," she says softly, her words drifting into the vastness of the sky. "Nothing can ruin it. Tonight is us."

Teddy closes his eyes, feeling guilt and cowardice and relief, sweet Merlin, relief. "Okay," he whispers, drawing her closer to him. "Okay."

"I love you," Victoire murmurs, closing her eyes.

"I will always love you," Teddy tells her, the words leaving his lips and floating into the night, truer than any lie he's ever told.


	5. when your beloved bravery falls short

_go Ravenclaw! _

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_**and the world keeps spinning**

_chapter five_**  
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**title**: when your beloved bravery falls short

**prompt**: Slytherin/anyone [my choice] _or _Hufflepuff/anyone _and _1-4 lines of a song

**pairing**: DaphneSeamus

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_Weep for yourself, my man,  
you'll never be what is in your heart  
weep little lion man,  
you're not as brave as you were at the start_

_-"Little Lion Man," Mumford & Sons_

**x.x**_  
_

"The problem with dating Gryffindors," Daphne announces loudly, shattering the calm in the common room, "is that they're not _nearly_ as brave as they pretend to be. In fact, they're cowards when it comes down to it."

"Hear fucking hear," Blaise mutters from across the room.

Daphne eyes him shrewdly. "Heard about you and Parvati, Zabini." She smirks at him meanly. "So sorry. Want to talk about it?"

Blaise looks away. "No. Sod off, Greengrass."

"I don't think I want to talk about Seamus either," Daphne says quietly, all the bravado gone. "I don't think I ever want to talk about him."

She curls up in her chair, letting the voices wash over her as she tries not to think of _him_ and _them_. She wonders if she'll ever succeed, because now, it's all she can think of.

**x.x**

"Oy, Greengrass!"

Daphne whirls around, already annoyed. "Who are you?" she asks rudely, staring at the vaguely familiar boy towering over her.

He has the nerve to look faintly insulted. "Seamus Finnigan," he says, winking at her. "I'm in your year. Gryffindor."

"No wonder I never noticed you before," Daphne says dismissively. "What do you want, Finnigan?"

He dangles a quill in front of her. "This yours?"

She snatches it out of his hand. "Well, aren't you chivalrous?" She smirks at him and starts to walk away.

"Nice to meet you too," Seamus yells after her.

Daphne turns around, her hand resting on her hip, and smiles prettily up at him. "Oh Seamus," she drawls, lowering her eyelashes. "Our encounter was such an absolute pleasure. Thank you ever so much for returning my quill to me. How can I ever repay you?" The smile slides off her face, and she throws him a disgusted look. "Did I feed your ego enough? Can I go now?"

Without waiting for his response, she stomps off, pretending not to notice that he's staring after her.

**x.x**

The next day, he's looming over her in Potions, and she slowly looks up, fixing him with an icy glare. "What do you _want?_"

"I wanted to say hi," Seamus says easily and smiles at her before returning to his seat, ignoring Dean's appalled stare.

Pansy nudges Daphne sharply. "Who was that?" she hisses.

Theodore leans in, smirking. "Someone who thinks he has a chance."

"What an idiot," Daphne agrees brightly, loudly enough for Seamus to hear. She tosses him a sunny smile, ignoring his stricken expression. It's better this way, she decides.

**x.x**

He doesn't give up though. He's constantly near her, grinning at her, coming up with new reasons to talk to her. Daphne either ignores him completely or cuts him down with some scathing remark, and he _still_ doesn't give up.

Finally, one day, she snaps. "What is it that you _want_, Finnigan? Why are you talking to me? Why are you even _acknowledging_ me?"

"I like you," Seamus says simply, grinning at the spots of color appearing on her pale cheeks. "Call me crazy, but I do."

"You're crazy," Daphne says irritably. "I don't know you, you don't know me. Nothing's going to happen. Will you go now?"

"Not yet," Seamus says, a flash of uncertainty going through his face, and then he's grabbing her face and kissing her, hard and quick. He pulls away and looks down at her, the familiar cocky grin appearing. "Still want me to leave?"

"Yes," Daphne says weakly, not meeting his eyes.

He shrugs at her and turns around, starting to walk away. Daphne stares at his back (and okay, his arse) for a moment, and then she's launched herself at him. "What?" he asks, laughing slightly as he easily captures her small hands in his. "Don't want me to leave after all?"

"Shut up and kiss me," Daphne orders breathlessly. He obliges.

**x.x**

After that, Daphne becomes very well acquainted with the various broom closets around school. She and Seamus kiss and talk and kiss some more. She tells him her secret fear of flying and he tells her what it was like growing up in violence-ridden Belfast. She talks about her sister, alternating between irritation and tampered-down jealousy. He talks about his mum, admiration flooding his voice, and then his dad, and the admiration switches to bitter dislike.

"You don't talk like this in Slytherin," Daphne points out one night, propped against Seamus' chest. "It's not painfully real and honest, everything is pretty and pretend."

"You could talk like this in Gryffindor," Seamus says, shrugging. "But they like action, and sometimes, it's just nice to talk about it, you know?"

"Yeah," Daphne says, sighing. "I know."

**x.x**

Daphne is not a girl that falls in love. But if she was (which she's not), she thinks that maybe possibly she'd be falling for broom closets and for being so _real_ and for Seamus, Seamus, _Seamus_.

**x.x**

She hears his voice before she sees him. She's trying to fight the stupid little smile that is inching away across her face when she rounds the corner and sees him. She stops, the smile sliding off.

_Lavender _laughing with Seamus.

_Lavender_ playfully brushing Seamus' shoulder.

_Lavender flirting with Seamus._

Before she realizes exactly what she's doing, she's across the hallway, tapping Seamus on the shoulder and giving Lavender a look of absolute disdain. "Can I have a word?" she asks coldly.

Lavender stifles a giggle, throwing Seamus a confused-but-sympathetic look. Daphne wants to smack her.

Seamus doesn't meet her eyes. "Uh, sure. See you at dinner, Lavender?"

Lavender giggles again and nods, and Seamus tosses her that cocky smile before wordlessly leading Daphne to the nearest closet. When they step inside, he glares at her. "_What?"_

"Excuse me?" Daphne asks, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You were flirting with Lavender Brown?"

"So?" Seamus shoots back at her, and then sighs. "Daphne. I thought we were on the same page."

"What page is that?" Daphne asks, her jaw clenched.

"Why would we be meeting in broom closets if this was real?" Seamus asks, grimacing. "I mean, I like you, you know I like you. But I can't exactly take you out to Hogsmeade, can I?"

"If this was real," Daphne echoes dully and then looks at him, suddenly furious. "And why not? Is there something _wrong_ with me that you can't be seen with me in public, Finnigan?"

"You're Slytherin," Seamus points out grimly. "That's what's wrong."

"I'm sorry," Daphne starts loudly, "but I seem to be a little confused about what the _fuck_ that has to do with anything?"

"My friends would…" Seamus trails off and then looks directly at her. "It just wouldn't work. If it was out in public. If anyone else knew."

"You didn't have a problem letting your friends see you try to get me to notice you," Daphne says, clenching her fists, hiding the trembles. "You let the whole fucking world see that."

"That was for fun, for laughs. In their eyes, anyway. No one thought you'd actually… that we'd actually…" Seamus stops, taking a deep breath. "But for Merlin's sake, Daphne, why'd you think we were always meeting in broom closets? I don't know if you know this, but typically, that's not how people conduct relationships."

Daphne turns her over-bright glare on him and tries to feel satisfaction when she sees him flinch. "I thought we just didn't care enough to let other people know. That what we had was too _real_ to let people fuck it up with their stupid prejudices and whatnot." She lets out a shaky, slightly hysterical laugh. "_Obviously_, I was wrong."

Seamus looks away. "It's not as simple as that," he mutters. "I do like you, Daphne, it's just- it's a little more complicated than that."

"You know," Daphne begins, her voice laced with poison, "I would expect this sort of two-timing behavior from a Slytherin-"

"I didn't mean to two-time you!"

"-seeing as most have overbearing parents who demand they marry pure and proper," Daphne continues relentlessly. "But from a Gryffindor? It's just cowardly."

She shoves past him, ignoring his strangled protest. When she steps out of the closet, her steely eyes fix on Pansy, who's looking curiously at her. Seamus storms out of the closet a second later and Pansy makes her way to Daphne.

"What were you doing in the closet with _Finnigan_?" she asks eagerly, her beady eyes lighting up.

Daphne regards her coolly. "Ending something that had gone on for far too long. You knew we were having a fling?"

Pansy stares at her, her mouth agape. "You and Finnigan?"

"Yes, quite," Daphne snaps tartly. "Where did you think I was all those evenings?" She smiles tightly at Pansy's shocked expression, and begins to walk away.

She notices Blaise stepping beside her out of the corner of her eye, and shakes her head briskly. "Go away, Zabini, I'm not in the mood."

"Why would you do that?" Blaise asks, ignoring her. "Parkinson's a terrible gossip, it'll be all over school by tomorrow."

Daphne stops walking. "Huh," she says and smiles brilliantly at him, her pretty mask firmly in place but her eyes hard. "What a terrible lapse in judgment, then."

**x.x**

Seamus corners her the next day, his face pale and furious. "Why the hell would you do that?" he hisses.

Daphne looks at him blandly. "Afraid of the truth? Not very chivalrous of you. Or brave, for that matter. My, my, the Sorting Hat seems to have made a mistake with _you._"

Seamus flushes, but ignores her goading. "Lavender is furious with me now."

"You know," Daphne says thoughtfully, "your concern with Lavender makes me wonder why you didn't choose _her_ for a quick shag in the broom closet. Why bother slumming it with me?" She fixes him with a hard stare. "Right. Don't answer that. Lavender's a nice girl. _She _deserves more."

"I never meant to hurt you, Daphne," Seamus says tiredly. "We had a lot of fun together and-"

"Oh, don't give me the pity break-up speech," Daphne snaps at him. "We were never_ real_, right?"

Seamus shrugs half-heartedly. "I should have told you before that I didn't want a relationship. I just wanted to have some fun, you know? War's coming and Lavender wants promises of forever, promises I can't make her. I wanted something..uncomplicated. I wanted…"

Daphne cuts him off. "Yes, war's coming," she says harshly, "and the general consensus among Gryffindors seems to be that the lot of Slytherin are Death Eaters. So when you flirted me, and tried to get in my robes regardless, I thought you were different. The one true Gryffindor." She looks away. "Seems we all make mistakes, hm?"

"Godric, Daphne," Seamus mutters, looking hurt. "You're really good at making someone feel ashamed."

Daphne smiles bitterly up at him. "Good. You deserve it."

"I know. I don't suppose we could ever be friends?" Seamus says, attempting his cocky smile.

Daphne bites back a laugh and tilts her head. "Stranger things have happened." She waves her hand between them as if to say _see? case in point._

Seamus crosses the distance between them and tentatively wraps her into his arms. She sags into him for a second, and then spins out of his arms. Seamus instinctively reaches out for her, and Daphne's eyes are bright as she slips away, out of the room, leaving nothing behind except the lingering ghost of regret.

**x.x**

Daphne opens her eyes and the common room is nearly open. Blaise is the only one left, his eyes hooded as he studies her. "Nice nap?"

"I wasn't sleeping," Daphne answers coldly, as she straightens herself in the chair and inconspicuously wipes away the wetness in her eyes. "I was reminiscing. You wouldn't understand, so don't bother."

"Wouldn't I?" Blaise asks sadly. "She told me she loved me, you know. I didn't answer. The look in her eyes…" He looks down. "I can still see it."

"He never cared about me, not truly," Daphne admits. "And I cared way too much."

"So did I," Blaise says bitterly. "And she probably thinks I'm like Seamus."

Daphne studies him. "Prove her wrong."

Her gaze holds a hint of challenge and Blaise gives her a quick, sad smile. "It's too late. She's dating Dean now, and even if she's not… It wouldn't work. Slytherin and Gryffindor? There are reasons for the rivalry. Especially now, with the war approaching. There'd be too much mistrust."

"You sound like him," Daphne mutters. "I'm not a hold-hands-and-sing-Kumbayah type of girl, but haven't we reached the point where Slytherins and Gryffindors can date without the secrecy? Isn't that what the war's about? It's ridiculous."

"Maybe you should have been a Gryffindor," Blaise say, smirking a little, "because that's what they say, while the Slytherins want to creep around in the shadows to not stain their bloody reputation."

"I'm more of a Gryffindor than Seamus will ever be, then," Daphne says, making a face, and collapsing into giggles.

Blaise smiles, watching her. "And you're the most Slytherin of anyone I know."

Daphne nods, accepting this, and scrambles to her feet. "So Slytherin, in fact, that I will be forced to pretend this conversation never happened." She glares at him. "Weakness doesn't suit me, and I'm tired of pretending like it does."

Blaise inclines his head, his eyes holding a hint of laughter. "Goodnight, Greengrass."

"I'll see you, Zabini," Daphne responds, and darts up the first couple of stairs to her dormitory. She looks over her shoulder, and smiles brightly. "And thanks."

"I didn't do anything," Blaise calls after her.

Daphne shrugs. "You reminded me that it's going to be all right. I'm going to be all right."

Their eyes meet, and Daphne grins before she leaps up the rest of the stairs, disappeared into the night. Blaise can still see her eyes, shining in the darkness with fierce determination, as he smiles and nods and says "I know," even after she's gone.


	6. and the fireworks blaze in this dark sky

_so..first person and I are not friends. This is the first (and probably last) time I've written it, so sorry for the lack of quality!_

_

* * *

_**and the world keeps spinning**

_chapter six_

**_

* * *

_title**: and the fireworks blaze in this dark sky

**prompt**: character from a House you haven't used [Hufflepuff], a "missing moment," and 1st person POV

**pairing**: HannahNeville

* * *

The night sky is lit up like it was on Bastille Day, during that one summer in Paris, when Mama laughed and gave me a crown of flowers and danced with me under the blazing fireworks while Daddy applauded from the side. I swallow hard and drop to the ground, ducking under a stream of spells headed towards me. _Focus , Hannah,_ I tell myself firmly. It's no time to be reminiscing.

But the simple thought of Mama has filled me with a rage I barely understand, and I'm back on my feet, shooting spells at anyone near me. One spell grazes a Death Eater, and he spins around, his eyes alight with fury, and takes a step towards me. I stare stonily at him, holding my wand in front of me, concentrating with all my might on my shaky non-verbal defense. The Death Eater notices the shield as he approaches, and a deeper scowl crosses his face. "Better stop that," he warns, his voice sending chills up my spine. _Don't break your concentration, Hannah._ I ignore him and my defense strengthens.

"You're not a Gryffindor, are you?" the Death Eater says, circling me. "If you were, you'd have attacked by now instead of wasting time with this shoddy defense. And you're not Ravenclaw, or this defense wouldn't be so shoddy." He tests my shield with a sharp spell, and a spasm of pain reaches me. I pretend not to be affected, lest he continue to penetrate it.

The Death Eater stares at me in annoyance, but continues to circle around me. "Obviously not Slytherin, so you must be a stinkin' Hufflepuff. I always hated you lot when I was at school. Meek and cowardly. Never the best at anything. Surprised they even let you fight tonight. I was Slytherin, course," he says proudly.

Susan would have something to say to this bigot, I think wryly, but all I can do is continue to ignore him. He doesn't like that. He aims a sharp kick at me, and although my shield is somewhat effective against magic, it's useless against brute force, and I kneel over, gasping in pain. It causes my shield to slip completely, but as I struggle to regain it, the Death Eater forgets his wand entirely and launches himself on me. I fall to the ground with a strangled cry, dodging his blows as best as I can. And then there's a flash of light and the Death Eater is flying backwards through the air, landing a few feet away with an indignant shout.

And Neville is at my side, his face lined with concern and his eyes smoldering, as he helps me to my feet. He taps my face with his wand, taking away much of the pain. "You okay?" he asks urgently, and at my weak nod, turns to the Death Eater. "Haven't you ever learned not to hit girls?" he practically growls, and the Death Eater laughs, stumbling to his feet.

"Did I hurt your lady love?" he taunts and in a second, he's back on the ground, perfectly motionless.

"Did you kill him?" My voice sounds strange, and I'm not sure what I want the answer to be.

Neville shrugs, his eyes hard. "I wasn't aiming to kill, but he might be dead, all the same. Hannah, you need to get out of here, you need to-"

A shout is heard and flashes of light appear and we duck down instinctively. "Hannah, please," Neville says desperately.

"I'm not a coward," I snap at him, twisting out of his grip. "I may not be Gryffindor, but I'm brave too. And loyal, and I won't abandon the DA."

Neville shouts my name, but I'm running away and into another battle. I shoot a well-placed spell, aided by the element of surprise, and Susan looks at me in gratitude, blood trickling down the side of her face but her eyes bright. "Thank God you're here," she says quickly. "I don't know where Ernie is and I'm losing my mind with worry."

"I think I saw him fighting over by the gate," I lie, and my stomach churns with guilt.

Susan's eyes say that she knows it's a lie, but she nods gratefully. "I'm sure he's fine, I just worry-" she trails off, shooting another spell at an approaching Death Eater.

And then it hits me, the unimaginable worry for Neville, and _what have I done?_ I frantically turn around to see if he's still there, but he's gone and _oh Merlin_ we're in a _battle _and how could I be so _stupid_?

"What?" Susan asks nervously, staring at me. "Hannah, what is it?"

"Nothing," I manage. "I'm just worried about Neville too."

**x.x**

I don't see him again for what seems like days and days of bloodshed, but is really less than an hour. And then we're gathered around, staring in _horrorhorrorhorror_ at the lifeless body of Harry Potter. I look away, tears obscuring my vision, and I notice Neville. He's staring intently, not at Harry, but at You-Know-Who's snake. And then he's breaking out of the confines of the crowd, running towards You-Know-Who, and I'm screaming, screaming, screaming but no sound is coming out. Neville is thrown to the ground by the force of You-Know-Who's spell, and I finally make a sound, but it's a strangled half-cry that no one hears.

I watch You-Know-Who's terrible lips move, as if in slow motion, and I grow as rigid as Neville himself, trapped in You-Know-Who's Body-Bind. Justin grabs my elbow, steadying me, but I barely feel his touch.

And then Neville bursts into flames, and there's a terrible scream that goes on forever, and I realize that it's me. And then the world erupts into chaos.

I'm still rooted in place, and Seamus Finnigan shakes me frantically, screaming in my ear, "Hannah, move!" I move just in time to dodge a terrible spell, and Seamus pulls me along, dodging spells that seem to be coming from nowhere and everywhere. We run into the Great Hall, where the battle is raging, and I'm swallowed up into the crowds, struggling to stay alive.

It's nonstop fighting and I'm drowning in it, and then everything comes to a stop as a giant Shield Charm engulfs us all. And then Harry appears, and a brief cheer erupts before eerie silence envelops the crowd, and we watch, terror-stricken, as Harry confronts You-Know-Who.

And then it's _finallyfinally _over and everyone's cheering but I'm fighting through the crowd, _searchingsearchingsearching._

And then: "Hannah!"

I turn frantically, screaming "Neville, Neville, Neville!" And then I see him and I launch myself into his waiting arms, sobbing hysterically. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I cry, clutching his cheeks with my hands, "I wasn't thinking, I didn't mean to yell at you, it's not your fault, I was just scared and the Death Eater was talking about Hufflepuffs being cowards and they killed my _mum_ and oh _God_, Neville, you scared me."

He kisses my forehead then, and pulls me closer. "You're not a coward," he says, smiling tiredly at me. "You were so brave tonight. I'm sorry for asking you to hide, I wasn't thinking-"

"Shh," I say bravely, leaning forward and kissing him slightly. "I'm so glad you're okay."

He smiles, surprised, and pushes back a strand of my hair. "I'm more than okay, now."

And then we're kissing and it's fireworks on Bastille Day all over again (but this time, I'm not afraid to open my eyes, and I think that _maybepossibly_ it will be a happy ending).


End file.
